Militants attack Pakistan gas field, violence kills 15

QUETTA, Pakistan, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Militants attacked a gas field in troubled southwest Pakistan on Wednesday and 12 of them were killed in fighting with security forces, a senior government official said.

Three soldiers were killed and three wounded in an earlier landmine blast in the region where separatist tribal fighters have been battling for control of resources for decades.

"Up to 40 militants attacked a gas field. During the fighting 12 militants were killed," said Abdul Samad Lasi, the top administration official in the area.

Baluch militants have been waging a low-level insurgency for decades for greater benefits and control of gas and other natural resources.

The gas field, near the small town of Pir Koh, was not damaged, Lasi said.

The landmine was planted on a road in the same area and exploded when the troops' vehicle ran over it, Lasi said. Two soldiers were killed instantly and one died later.

The military launched its latest crackdown in Baluchistan after a Dec. 14 rocket attack on a paramilitary base when President Pervez Musharraf was visiting a nearby town.

Baluch nationalists say almost 200 people have died in the crackdown, although some political analysts say that toll appears exaggerated. The government has not commented on casualties.